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Councilman suggests change to job policy

TYRONE — The hiring and firing authority was a point of contention Monday when a Tyrone councilman suggested council should be the lone decision maker when it comes to employment.

Councilman Charles Mills said council members should have sole authority over all personnel items, namely hiring and firing.

In Tyrone, Borough Manager Phyllis Garhart has the authority to hire and fire employees, but she must report those actions to Borough Council members.

Mills said employees are “scared to death” that they will be fired, and he feels they should be able to operate without that stress.

“They are damn good employees,” he said.

It was not made clear if any one incident spurred Mills’ request.

Regardless, Mayor Bill Fink said council can do little to take authority away from the manager.

He said her hiring and firing authority is given to her by the borough’s home rule charter, which was approved by voters.

That didn’t seem to satisfy Mills, who continued, even after the meeting, to advocate for a change. Mills said he wanted to see the rule in print.

After the meeting, Fink produced a copy of the charter. In its borough manager section, it reads: “He shall hire, suspend or discharge all other employees under his supervision, and he shall report at the next meeting of the council any action taken.”

Fink said Garhart has had to fire employees in the past, but she has followed established procedures.

“When the package is together, it’ll hold water,” he said. “I think she is very competent to handle these types of situations.”

Also, when someone is fired, council reviews the manager’s decision and can take action if members take issue with it, Fink said.

Garhart was confused by Mills’ request.

“I just don’t know where he is coming from because I keep council well informed,” she said. “I put our employees on a pedestal, let me tell you.”

That is a notion Fink seemed to support.

“We have good people working here, very good people,” he said.

Fink said he feels personnel issues should be handled quietly to protect employees’ reputations.

“This should all be handled quietly and confidentially. We have to be very, very careful,” he said, denouncing public firings. “It does nothing but throw a lot of dirt in the pond.”

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.

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